Rohit vs Hardik: RIP Conspiracy Theorists!

In recent times, a very public change of guard made extensive headlines. Hardik Pandya moved from the Gujarat Titans (GT), where he had a very successful stint – winning the IPL in the inaugural year of the Ahmedabad-based franchise –

Rohit vs Hardik: RIP Conspiracy Theorists! (Image Source: Google)

As recently as late May, Indians worried about how Rohit and Pandya would manage together – remember, reams had already been written about the meltdown of MI with the leadership switch and its aftermath. Others such as Harbhajan counselled the BCCI to bring the two talented players together to iron out differences. He commented on Pandya, “When he wears that blue jersey, he will be a different Hardik Pandya because we know he can score those runs and take those wickets…”

What happened at the World Cup is now cast in cricketing lore. In the death overs, with 26 needed off 24 balls, Hardik came back into the attack. He had bowled only one over earlier but this time he struck off his first ball of the 17th, removing Klassen who had looked to finish off the game with time to spare. Of course, much of the credit for this was to Bumrah who had built pressure in the previous over. 

And then came THAT famed last over. 16 needed off 6. With Dave Miller on strike! How many matches had he finished with success. Surely, 16 off the last over wasn’t too much for him. Rohit had a choice then – either the left arm orthodox of Ravindra Jadeja or the medium pace of Pandya. With Jadeja having gone for 12 off the only over he had bowled earlier and this clearly not being a game where the Indian spinners had shone, perhaps the skipper’s choice was made easier. Helped by the fact that a conventional left arm spinner would perhaps have been meat and drink for the left handed Miller. Pandya it was!

Of course, Mother Luck played a role. A BIG role! Had Surya Kumar Yadav not demonstrated exceptional presence of mind combined with athleticism, South Africa would have been faced with 10 off 5 balls with Miller still on strike. Except that with Kagiso Rabada at the crease, they still had to get 16, off just 5 balls. Rabada made two wild slashes outside off, the first going for a boundary and the second a clear miss, but they managed to run for a bye. 11 to get, off 3! And then Maharaj took a single – 10 to get, off just 2. Pandya had made it, bowling a tight line and not giving any room. Or had he?

The next one went wide. Touch of nerves? 9 to get, and 2 balls still in hand. No one was even dreaming about the much reported rift between Rohit and Pandya now, were they? Such imaginary rifts don’t come to mind when the world cup hangs in the balance. And the match wasn’t won yet. Two hoicks from the powerful Rabada could have ended India’s cup aspirations. Except that they didn’t happen. Rabada did try and hoist the next ball into the stands, but couldn’t clear the alert Surya. An impossible 9 to get off the last ball. Barring a no-ball, it was India’s game. And indeed, the cup did come home. 

In Indian cricket, jeers can turn to cheers very quickly. The team was brought home on a specially arranged aircraft, a meeting with the Prime Minister was followed by a rollicking bustop ride through Mumbai to a packed Wankhede. Where Rohit was quick to appreciate Pandya’s key role in the victory. Boos in IPL turned to chants of ‘Hardik, Hardik.’ It was a huge ‘homecoming’ moment to Pandya, but he would do well to remember that Indian public memory is notoriously short. Some media members writing accolades now had no compunction in widening their scrutiny to include his personal life too. As of now, let the memories be happy ones. 

Endnote

And what of the future? Rohit has retired from T20 at the international level, which means that Hardik Pandya is likely to be the next skipper for this format.

Rohit may well remain the ODI skipper for the moment, at least till the Champions Trophy scheduled for Feb-Mar next year. His carrying on till the 2027 World Cup, to be held in South Africa, looks a bit unlikely as of now – he will be forty that year. 

Whether Pandya is handed the ODI captaincy too after the Champions Trophy 2025 is a question only time will tell, and the answer may well lie in Pandya’s fitness in longer formats and his capacity to bowl more than four overs in a match. Don’t expect those conspiracy theorists to go away – the only thing that send them into hiding is victory and Pandya will know it well. 

Coming to the longest format, Pandya has not played a test since 2018. And it is entirely likely that in future, the Indian cricket captaincy will see a split between formats – and that’s perhaps a good thing, given the demanding schedule.

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Arjun Kumar is a cricket enthusiast with a passion for the game in its longest form, as well as a brand strategist. He tweets @HiddenHeritage